Books & Talks

Interview

A Portlander Wrote Atlas Obscura’s New Food-Obsessed Book, Gastro Obscura

Cecily Wong’s new encyclopedic book covers everything from master butter sculptors to Hawaiian plate lunches.

10/08/2021 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Interview

We Can All Learn So Much from Betty White

In her new book, How to be Golden, Portland author Paula Bernstein discusses the beloved actress's magnetism and the lessons we might learn from her long career.

09/29/2021 By Cami Hughes

Q&A

Can Squid Teach Us How to Survive Climate Change?

Author and conservation biologist Thor Hanson talks to us about his new book Hurricane Lizards and Plastic Squid: The Fraught and Fascinating Biology of Climate Change.

09/28/2021 By Karly Quadros

Books

The Portland Book Festival Announces Star-Studded 2021 Lineup

National names like Brandon Taylor and Maggie Nelson will join local heavy-hitters like Willy Vlautin and Emilly Prado for a hybrid virtual/in-person bonanza.

09/22/2021 By Conner Reed

Books

A New Cultural Atlas Spotlights the Cities of the Upper Left

The story of Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco, told through gorgeously illustrated maps, from two Portland State geography professors and a generation of their student collaborators.

09/01/2021 By Julia Silverman

Interview

James Patterson Talks His New, Portland-Set Thriller

The 74-year-old discusses his latest book, The Noise, plus his relationships with Bill Clinton, Stephen King, Dolly Parton, and the works of James Joyce.

08/13/2021 By Conner Reed

Books

In Easy Crafts for the Insane, the Inventor of “Adulting” Rebuilds Herself One Paper Star at a Time

Kelly Williams Brown had a terrible 700 days. In a new memoir, she talks about how paper folding helped her through it.

07/23/2021 By Conner Reed

Summer Reads

Three Sisters: A Short Story by Guadalupe García McCall

"Maria tossed her hair out of her face and sat up with a jerk. She leaned forward, distorting her image on the screen. Her lips became pale, and her left eye was suddenly sanguine, swollen."

07/14/2021 By Guadalupe García McCall

Summer Reads

Niyi and the Tan Stucco House: A Short Story by Olufunke Grace Bankole

"Stomping-boot-by-stomping-boot, Niyi cracked down the sidewalk. At the pink house with blue trim, he bent forward to smell the pine tree smell, as his baba had taught him. But it was his mama who’d told him to 'notice everything, especially the air.'"

07/14/2021 By Olufunke Grace Bankole

Books

Portland’s Only Brick-and-Mortar Black-Owned Bookstore Reopens on Division

Third Eye Books and Gifts will throw its doors back open on June 20 at an all-new location.

06/18/2021 By Conner Reed

Books

Genevieve Hudson’s Buzzy Novel Boys of Alabama Addresses Southern Masculinity and More

The South, says Hudson, “feels like the landscape culturally and emotionally that shaped me to be who I am.”

06/16/2021 By Aliya Hall

Footnotes

LISTEN AGAIN: What Albert Camus's 'The Plague' Can Teach Us About the Pandemic

Courtney Campbell on The Plague, the lessons we’ve learned from this pandemic, and how philosophy will continue to play a role in our everyday lives.

06/11/2021 By Gabriel Granillo

Q&A

Writing, Memory, and Mental Health: An Interview with Portland Writer Emilly Prado

Her new book, Funeral for Flaca, hits shelves July 1.

06/06/2021 By Nick Campigli

Publishing

Portland Is Getting the World's First Communal Zine Tricycle

Sarah Mirk is creating a hand-built “zine trike” that local creators can use to pedal (and peddle) their wares.

05/15/2021 By Julia Silverman

Books

This Portlander Can Teach You How to Make Your Own Stylish Shoes

Rachel Corry's new book The Sandalmaking Workshop lays out everything you need—from patterns to step-by-step instructions—to make your own shoes.

05/10/2021 By Eden Dawn

Interview

Portland Author Willy Vlautin Talks Gentrification and the Changing City

His new book, The Night Always Comes, is out this month.

04/30/2021 By Fiona McCann

Books

New Portland-Produced Book Teaches Kids and Parents about Anti-Asian Hate

A Kids Book About Anti-Asian Hate talks about what it means to be Asian American and how to use your voice to stand up to hatred.

04/20/2021 By Aurora Biggers

Profile

Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner Is Ready to Feel Again

With the release of her first book, Crying in H Mart, and third album, Jubilee, the Eugene native is exorcising her grief and looking for something grander.

04/16/2021 By Conner Reed

Interior Design

How to Make Vintage Shopping Work for Your Home

Portland interior designer Max Humphrey's new book, Modern Americana, shows how the old can be new.

04/13/2021 By Reina Harwood

Footnotes

LISTEN: How Beverly Cleary Wrote about Motherhood, Parenting, and Portland

Portland Monthly’s news editor talks with Portland-based author Lydia Kiesling about the late writer's enduring legacy.

04/09/2021 By Gabriel Granillo